While living this thing called life, it is such a blessing to have family and friends. God has used some very special people to keep me from going totally off the deep end. I believe if I did, Lashanne Baker would be the one to go with me and our husbands would jump in to pick up the pieces if needed. She is a registered nurse and handy to have around with my kind of luck.
We have been friends for so long that our children grew up together. We have gone with them on many church youth trips. During one ski trip, I remember sitting down and my nose just started gushing blood. My friend Shanne was eating Skittles. She calmly told me to hold on while she put the Skittles down and grabbed a paper towel. She tilted my head back, applied pressure on my nose with the paper towel and kept eating Skittles!
When we moved to the North Alabama area, Shanne was from here, which gave her an excuse to visit. She rode with me two hours and 15 minutes one way in our 1989 Ford Bronco II that leaked oil. We left my mother’s on a Friday and went back Sunday. We went all over the area and visited some of Shanne’s relatives. I was even able to show my church family that I had friends! That was yet another adventure that had me reminiscing another former adventure.
This story I thought I might share was probably my favorite and what I like to call the Wave Runner Incident.
Back in the day when I made a little money, I bought my husband a wave runner for Father’s Day. It was bright yellow and included three matching life jackets. It was a built for three people and could go up to 55 miles per hour. If you looked at the front of the craft, it was painted to where it looks like an alien when you see it at that angle. My friend Shanne wanted to take me for a ride on it. I asked if she was sure and told her that it would go up to 55 miles an hour. She just smiled and looked at me and said in a tough demeanor, “I ain’t scared.”
With that, we puffed up and headed for the wave runner. On the way, Shanne’s sister-in-law and Nancy, another one of my dear friends, wanted to ride, too. We all put on our color-coordinated jackets and sunglasses. I had on Spiderman sunglasses and Teva wannabe shoes.
The wave runner must have a weight limit of less than three people, because with the three of us on, it was struggling. This should have been a sign, and it was too bad that we were not looking for a sign. Shanne hit the gas.
Nancy was in the middle of the craft and I was in the back. I felt like I was dragging but I had my life jacket on. After she got the speed up as fast as she could, Shanne did a 180-degree turn and I flew off!
I remember thinking that I was drowning but I couldn’t be because my head was above water. I was just bobbing up and down like a cork with Spiderman sunglasses and blown-out Teva wannabes. I looked back at the wave runner and it looked like an alien looking back at me, mighty proud of itself. Lashanne kept asking if I hit anything, and it took me a while to answer because I couldn’t breathe. When I finally could take a breath, I told her that I didn’t’ hit anything and that I was okay. We went back to the house.
At church that Sunday, people were telling me that I should have held on. I told them that I did – Shanne fell off too!
At this time, it is almost like my friend Shanne and I are leading parallel lives. We keep in touch to compare notes and share information and ideas. Many times, I have been in a difficult situation and my phone would ring with her name on the caller ID. I would ask, “How does she know?” but I know that God sent me this adventurous nurse and that Shanne knows exactly what to say.
True friends might live a long way away, but they are not apart in the heart. I praise God for you, Shanne!